Justin Bibbins (Bishop Montgomery) scored 24 of his game-high 29 points in the second half and Bear Henderson (Village Christian) posted a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds as each player earned co-Player of the Game honors at the inaugural All-Academic Game Sunday afternoon at Cathedral HS in Los Angeles.

The event's focus was not just on basketball, but also on academic achievement. And each of the participants is a full qualifier and expects to attend college in the fall. Bibbins, who has signed with Long Beach State, and center Justin Strings, who is headed to Sacramento State, have already signed letters of intent, but many of the other participants are still unsigned.

The game itself was very competitive, with neither team leading by more than 8 points the entire game. The Green team took a 34-26 lead late in the first half, only to see the Black team score the final seven points of the first half to cut the margin to a point and then take a 36-34 lead on a 3-pointer by Kameron Murrell (Long Beach Poly) early in the second half.

It was tied at 55 when the Black team went on a 7-0 spurt, starting with a free throw by Nick Hamilton (Westchester) and continuing with three straight baskets by Bibbins. The Black team never surrendered that lead, though the Green team got within a point at 85-84 and still trailed by just a point at 89-88 with 41.5 seconds left.

Daylan Lawrence (Rancho Cucamonga) scored on a dunk for the Black team after a pass from Murrell to make it 91-88, and after Henderson missed a 3-pointer Idrissa Diallo (Cathedral) grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made a free throw with 9.9 seconds left to make it 92-88 and apparently clinch the victory.

But as time wound down, Henderson attempted a 3-pointer from the right corner, and Diallo fouled him with 1.2 seconds remaining, giving The Bear three free throws. He made the first two, and the Green team called timeout to set up a final strategy. On the restart, Henderson intentionally missed the final free throw, but Hamilton grabbed the rebound, finally securing the victory for the Black team.

Bibbins led all scorers with his 29 points, and he also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Murrell had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for the winners, and Lawrence had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Diallo just missed a double-double with 9 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while also adding 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. And Hamilton, who will bring in a remarkable 4.2 grade point average with him to Cal next fall, had 7 points and 7 rebounds.

For the Green team, Henderson had 25 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Jerome Bryant (Cathedral) had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and Strings had 10 points and 7 boards. Overall the Green team outshot the Black team, making 45.6% of its field goals, but also committed 25 turnovers compared to just 13 for the winners.

Neither team led by more than 8 points all game. It was last tied at 55.1 FT by Hamilton and 3 FGs by Bibbins gave Black a 62-55 lead.Green never quite caught up but trailed just 89-88 with 41.5 seconds left.A dunk by Lawrence and a FT by Diallo made it 92-88 with 9.9 seconds left.Bear Henderson was fouled trying a 3-pointer with 1.2 secs left and made the first 2 FTs.He missed the 3rd one on purpose, but Hamilton got the rebound to clinch the win for Black.